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Florida State to celebrate 50 years of women's intercollegiate sports in 2018-19

Florida State will hold a year-long celebration in the 2018-19 academic calendar year honoring 50 years of women's intercollegiate athletics at FSU.

FSU Athletic Director Stan Wilcox announced this to those in attendance at Friday's National Championship Celebration for the FSU Softball team, which won its first NCAA Title in program history Tuesday evening.

"This is the 50th year of having the women's athletics program at Florida State and we want to give just due to it," Wilcox said.

"We're going to kick it off on September 2nd with a big celebration and that celebration is going to spill over to the rest of the academic year."

FSU had women's athletics dating back to the early 1900s, but will honor the stretch beginning with the University's first-ever intercollegiate women's athletics program, volleyball, which began in 1968.

Over that 50-year stretch, FSU's women's athletics have won seven national championships (3 AIAW, 4 NCAA), adding its most recent just three days prior to the announcement.

"It's very fitting that (the announcement) comes on the heels of a national championship," Wilcox said.

"I didn't want to lose the opportunity to let everybody know that this is what we're going to be doing next year. It's because of women like this team that we're looking to celebrate women's athletics at Florida State."

“This is an outstanding opportunity for us to celebrate each of our sports as well as to
encourage our many, many supporters and fans to be involved with our programs," Vanessa Fuchs, Senior Associate Athletics Director and the Senior Woman Administrator at FSU, said.

"As a former FSU student-athlete myself, I know how much women’s athletics means to our university and our fans. Our hope is that they will join us in remembering and celebrating all that has been achieved over the last 50 years."

Each of the FSU venues will be adorned with special logos commemorating the 50th anniversary and each of the uniforms of FSU's women's athletics programs will also have special logos as well.

"I think it's great that we could open the 50th year with a national championship and be able to celebrate it next year," FSU softball star Jessie Warren said.

"There have been so many people in the past that have paved the road for us to drive it. That's what we're continuing to do."

The year-long celebration will launch with the “Garnet And Golden Celebration” scheduled for September 2. All event dates and details will be posted at Seminoles.com/50th and on social media utilizing the hashtag #GarnetAndGolden.